Monday, May 16, 2011

The NYT has an investigative bit documenting the present whereabouts and whatabouts of Blackwater (or Xe or whatever it is now) head weirdo Erik Prince. In case you were wondering, the nasty little sod has popped up the Emirates and is presently struggling to set up a mercenary legion tasked in part with protecting the local royals from all that revolution sweeping the region. Seems the Emirati don't even trust their own forces with protecting them...

At least Mr. Prince is a bonafide war-whore. None are in doubt about his loyalties and interests.

However, in Canada our elected leaders are much less honest about their mercenary tendencies. Indeed, see, they've taken the men and women in the units that make the Canadian Forces and, without telling the public or parliament, sought to employ them in a war instigated by one of our neighbours and allies. One could say that Jean Chretien and probably Stephen Harper conspired to steal an armed forces to use for their own personal causes. Your neighbours, relatives and tax dollars provide the blood and treasure for this army, but you nor your elected representatives have much of a say in how they're used if the Prime Minister sees fit not to inform you.

Now to be fair, members of the armed forces have at various times been deployed to places that the public has not been told about. This is common practice across most major and intermediate powers who like to stick their fingers in the world. But these doings are often very low key, low risk, below the radar affairs. They are NOT full on invasions and occupations of foreign states. And especially not those trumping international law, and rationalised on lies.

That reality makes the Canadian Forces a publicly subsidized mercenary legion for prime ministerial whims. That a prime minister can stand before parliament and the public who put him there and lie about the participation of the armed forces in a major war (or two) is beyond the pale.

No wonder they like to play dress-upin military uniforms: It's their army now.

12 comments:

"They are NOT full on invasions and occupations of foreign states. And especially not those trumping international law...". Hardly. The ISAF mission in Afstan has been repeatedly authorized by the UN Security Council, and the Libyan operation is also pursuant to a UNSC resolution (although that may be being stretched a bit).

Canada has been a peacekeeping nation, since WW11. We assist civilians in war destroyed country's. We did not bomb innocent people, until Harper. That is not Canada's role in this world. We have supported the U.N. as in peacekeeping and aid for the victims. We were never a war mongering country, until Harper.

Harper with his big mouth, had harsh words for Iran. He has threatened Russia, in regard to, the high Arctic and the vast resources there.

Harper's excuse was, don't you think it's wrong, Ghadfi is murdering his own people. Well Mr. Harper, we know you are a great fan of China. What about Chinese workers in an apple factory, have to sign a pledge not to commit suicide, because of the horrible working conditions? Lets see you declare war on China.

Mercenary is the wrong term. A mercenary is a soldier who is a member of a private military organization that has a paid contract. Besides being government forces, not private, as far as I know, Canadian forces haven't been contracted out, for hire, so they aren't mercenaries.

The Korean war were volunteers from Canada. Canada was not at war with Korea.

Kosovo, was when the Canadians were fired upon. Their mission was, still a peacekeeping mission. They were conducting a search for weapons, and were attacked. They were there for the U.N. If you are fired upon, of course you will fight back. Be kind of dumb not to.

Canada has done many peacekeeping missions for the U.N. That was Canada's primary role. We don't start wars.

There is a petition, to prosecute Harper and Peter MacKay, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Korean war were volunteers from Canada. Canada was not at war with Korea.

Kosovo, was when the Canadians were fired upon. Their mission was, still a peacekeeping mission. They were conducting a search for weapons, and were attacked. They were there for the U.N. If you are fired upon, of course you will fight back. Be kind of dumb not to.

Canada has done many peacekeeping missions for the U.N. That was Canada's primary role. We don't start wars.

There is a petition, to prosecute Harper and Peter MacKay, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Gloria, the "Peackeeping Myth" is something that both the left and right in this country have bought into, as if those of us who spent the period prior to Afghanistan training hard to be combat soldiers were just imagining the whole thing. The Canadian Forces' primary role for most of the postwar period was explicity the defence of Western Europe, in addition to guaranteeing national sovereignty (a given) and supporting any other operations in support of our allies or interests (real or perceived). UN operations are just one of the things the CF does, nothing more or less.

Not to denigrate our signature Peace Keeping duties, that made us icons in the world .... but in the heyday of our peace efforts about 50% of our defence budget was spent keeping a couple of squadrons of Saber Jets at the ready in Lars Germany.

The JFT-2, inheritors of the legacy of the Airbornern Regiment (remember them) were running about Afghanistan long before even Bush sent in regular troops

1. The Canadian Forces to not work for Parliament or the Prime Minister. They are personal servants of Her Majesty the Queen.

Of course, in Canada, constitutional convention requires that the Queen exercise her royal prerogative only on the advice of her Ministers, which effectively means the Prime Minister.

He, in turn, is answerable to Parliament and must resign if he does not enjoy the confidence of the House of Commons. But the CF are not civil servants or employees of the government. Until the House of Commons decides to turf the government of the day, that government decides when and where the armed forces go.

The last Parliamentary army was Cromwell's Roundheads. That was so much fun that no one wants to do it again.

2. The Korean War was an exercise in collective security under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. Or, in English, a war. We were, in fact, in a war with North Korea and, eventually, Communist China.

It is not to be confused with a peacekeeping operation, which has a much more limited mandate under Chapter 6 of the UN Charter.

Whether the Canadian troops in Korea volunteered for the duty is irrelevant. They were there are Canadian soldiers, fighting a war as ordered by the government of the day (on behalf of HMQ).

3. The Kosovo bombing was not a peacekeeping operation. It was a regional stability operation under Article 4 of the NATO Treaty (the North Atlantic Charter).

There is considerable legal discussion as to whether it was legitimate or not. The position of the Canadian government, then and now, is that it was necessary and legal. You can argue about whether it was a "war," (NATO insisted that it was not) but it was clearly an international armed conflict. That is to say, a war.